Making the Most of Social Media for Your Small Business

How to Use Social Media to Build Business

In today’s modern technology age, more and more businesses are using social media to connect and communicate with their customers on a whole new level. With millions of consumers using social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn both on their computers and on their phones, it only makes sense for small business owners to jump into the social media pool as well. With proper planning and controlled execution, business owners can create and manage an effective social media marketing plan.

Develop a Social Media Marketing Plan

Unlike utilizing social media for personal use, using these websites for a business takes some planning to ensure it will benefit the organization. Start by laying out a social media marketing plan. This plan should include the purpose of the endeavor, what the desired outcome of the plan is, how the plan will be executed, including a comprehensive timeline, as well as who will be responsible for maintaining the social media sites. Taking the time to plan these aspects of social media will help small business owners determine if this is the correct path for their marketing and determine what outcomes will be possible.

Start with Internal Promotions

Once a plan has been put in place and the site is up and running, it is time to start promoting. First and foremost, make sure to announce to the members and associates within your business that a social media site for the company has been launched – this internal announcement should include what platform is being used, the purpose of the site, and how or who will be managing it. Then, begin announcing the launch of your social media site to customers – include a link to the site in email signature blocks and add the site’s URL to business cards and other printed promotions.

Follow Strict Content Guidelines

The most successful social media for business always puts the customer first. As you begin developing content, make sure to keep what the customer wants to see in mind. An easy way to accomplish this is by following the 80/20 rule – 80 percent of what is posted should be beneficial to the customer while 20 percent should be self-promotion for the business. It is also important to evaluate the feedback you receive from customers regarding the content that is posted and make adjustments to meet their needs along the way. Social media is a unique opportunity to reinforce positive impressions!

Social media is everywhere we look nowadays – on our computers, smartphones, and tablets. Virtually every type of business, big or small, is using it to communicate with customers. With this type of popularity, it only makes sense for small business owners to research how a social media site can benefit their business. By using proper planning and following the guidelines that have been proven to work for other organizations, launching a social media site can grant small businesses increased exposure as well as the opportunity to engage and grow their customer base as well as cultivate long-lasting customer relationships.

How is your home business working out? If you need tips or help making it more profitable or just want to learn about new opportunities, Stacy O'Quinn can help! For more information, click here.

*Photo Courtesy of Jason Howie via Creative Commons License

How Are You Treating Your Clients?

Creating Personal Client Relationships to Boost Business

Every small business owner understands that the individuals who purchase their products or utilize their services are the only reason they are in business to begin with. Because of this, it is vitally important to show these individuals how invaluable they truly are and create personal, lasting client relationships – that’s right, clients not customers. As Dani Johnson writes in her blog, “customer” refers simply to a nameless consumer who hands you their money. Clients, on the other hand, represent a more personal one-on-one experience and treating them in this manner can make a huge difference in your business.

Showing Appreciation for Your Clients Can Boost Business

In small business, there is a lot of competition and one thing that sets some businesses above others is how they treat clients and show appreciation for their business. The first step in showing this is by treating the individuals you do business with as true clients and not customers. Take the time to talk to your clients about more than just business – ask them about what they do for a living, what they are passionate about, about their families. Showing this kind of genuine interest in a client will show them how much you care about them as a person rather than just their business.

Truly and Personally Thank Clients

Genuinely thanking clients for making your business possible is a great way to cultivate and grow personal relationships. Although this could be as simple as sending them an email or leaving a voice message, there are some other ways to really show your clients how much they mean to you. One of the oldest and sometimes most forgotten forms of appreciation are traditional thank you cards. When a client receives a thank you card in the mail that is hand written by a business owner, it makes them feel special and important to you and your business and has them coming back over and over again.

Johnson writes that business owners should include a personalized message to take this gesture one step further instead of just writing the general “thank you for your business” or having the cards pre-printed with messages and signatures. Why not include a personalized note that includes what specifically you appreciate or like about the client or wishing them well for an upcoming life event they have mentioned, such as a wedding or child’s graduation. Sending this kind of appreciation not only makes clients feel good but will also make you feel good.

Clients are the reason small business owners are in business – without them there would not be anyone to sell products to or provide services for. This is why it is vital to treat these individuals as the important clients that they are and show your appreciation whenever possible. Clients have a choice when it comes to doing business – whether you are selling pet supplies, shoes, doing landscaping or providing accounting services, there is another business out there where your clients can choose to spend their money. By making clients feel important, they will choose your business time and time again. 

Need more advice on how to make your legitimate home business more successful? Why not give Stacy O'Quinn a call today to see what opportunities he has available and how we can help you create a six figure income! Clickhere.

How to Make Your Small Business Stand Out from the Competition

Tips to Help Build Your Brand and Grow a Stand-Out Business

Small businesses are a great opportunity to live your dream and create positive experiences with customers. These types of businesses often provide niche markets with the products and services they are looking for locally in their own communities. Because of this, small business owners can take advantage of limited competition and work to create a strong brand image among their consumers. Although small business budgets are sometimes tight, there are some inexpensive yet effective ways to grow the company’s brand and business within a community and help stand out from others.

Offer Great Products and Services

One of the easiest ways to stand out from other, similar businesses is to offer superior products and services. In order to communicate this point to consumers, make sure to do research to determine what exactly makes your business’s offerings better than the others. Think of things such as quality, product longevity and customer service. Once these unique factors have been identified, make sure to work them into the business’s overall messaging so customers know what to look at when comparing organizations and give them valid reasons to choose your business over others.

Put a Face to Your Business

Too many consumers only know a business by its branding or product. Being a small business owner gives you a unique opportunity to connect with customers on a more personal level and have them know the business by your name and face or the names and faces of your employees instead of just a logo or company slogan.  Making these types of connections shows customers that the business owner and employees are passionate about what they do and truly care about their customers. Customer service of this kind is so important to consumers and will have them coming back again and again.

Build a Positive Community Around Your Brand

Building a strong community around your business and your brand is crucial for attracting new customers and continuing strong connections with current customers. This type of positive energy around the brand should be made both online and offline and often cost little to no funds to create. A great way to get started in building this community is by launching a Facebook or other free social media page. This is a great stage to interact with customers and help promote your business events within the community – these online promotions then translate to offline promotions when the event takes place and the community is invited to participate in a positive way.

 Standing out from the competition, especially in small business, is crucial to the organization’s success. By really caring about customers, offering superior products, and building a positive community around your brand, it can show potential customers why they should choose your company over others. Building a stand-out brand does not have to mean spending a lot of money on advertising and marketing – by making personal connections with customers and having them know your business by you and not your logo or slogan is a simple and cost-effective way to stand apart from other, similar businesses.

Need more tips on how to make your work at home business more successful? Stacy O'Quinn can help! To find out how, click here.

*Photo Courtesy of Phil Wood Photo via Creative Commons License

Are You Preventing Your Own Success?

Overcoming Obstacles and Gaining Success

Despite what you may believe success is not just for a few lucky individuals. Success, both in business and in life, comes from determination, hard work and the belief that anyone can overcome the difficult circumstances placed in front of them.  Challenges are not always a determining factor in success but how an individual responds and overcomes them is what really drives accomplishment. It is important to remember that we are not ruled by the situations we are given and we have the ability and drive to get through them and reach our goals.

Do Not Make Excuses, Just Do It!

One of the biggest road blocks to success is an individual’s own excuses. When something seems too difficult, too ambitious or too expensive, we generally come up with a reason why we should not do it. Although steps along the road to success may seem impossible, it is important to do the things you need to or want to do without letting your own excuses get in the way. If something seems too hard, break it down into smaller steps – if something seems to expensive, start cutting back on lofty spending and saving money to make it happen.

Learn from Others

Chances are, no matter what challenge you are facing or what goal you are trying to reach, someone somewhere has already been through it.  As the old saying goes, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery so, why not connect with someone who has accomplished your goal and do as they did? If you have a friend or relative who has made it through a struggle, try to work through your own in a similar way. If it has been proven to work once why not give it a try – chances are that person will be willing to help repeat their success with someone else.

Throw Self-Doubt Aside

Another huge obstacle for many people is that they believe they cannot accomplish their dreams. This kind of self-doubt will undermine any success that may be on the horizon for you. Instead of convincing yourself you cannot do something because of a lack of skills, lack of financial support or lack of intelligence have faith that anything you put your mind to can be accomplished. Success can only be accomplished if an individual believes in themselves and is determined to do what it takes – try new things, make sacrifices and keep on going - to reach their goals.  

Success is not something that people stumble upon overnight or a gift given to only special individuals. Some of the most successful individuals have worked hard and overcome many obstacles to get to where they are today and have earned those things through sweat and tears. Instead of allowing excuses and self-doubt get in the way, grab opportunity by the horns and work through any obstacles that get in the way. You will never regret doing everything you can to be successful so just do it!

Do you think you can benefit from a small business mentor to help you with your legitimate home business? Stacy O'Quinn started deep in debt but soon found a way to generate a six figure income and is now a successful businessman. Stacy has helped dozens of other small business owners realize their true potential and he would love to do the same for you. To learn more about Stacy, click here.

Connecting with Your Clients

Building Connections to Drive Success

Nowadays, running a small business is more about cultivating and building connections with customers and clients than inventing the next big product. With new advances in technology, society as a whole has lost some of the magic of open, face-to-face communication and can sometimes have small business owners communicating from behind a computer screen. Even though this makes communication easy, it is vital to remember the importance of truly connecting with others, especially in the business world.

Begin at the Social Level and Connect through Your Personal Strengths

When communicating with customers, or really anyone in the business world, there are generally four different levels of communication. The first of these levels is the social level – this is the level where every conversation begins. Conversations at the social level usually include topics such as information about the business, products and services that are offered, the weather, how the customer is doing today and other small talk. In order to build deep customer connections, it is important to briefly touch on this level and move on.

The second level of communication is connecting with others through your personal strengths – every small business owner has strengths and personal knowledge that can help push them past the first level of communication. This is an opportunity to tell the customer more about yourself, your business, your professional strengths and your passion for the business. By opening the conversation to these topics, customers get an idea of the type of person and type of business they may be purchasing from – if a small business owner uses and expresses these strengths, customers are more likely to buy in as well.

Drive Every Conversation with Intent

Great communicators do not just fall into conversations that seem to be going nowhere – these individuals have mastered the art of shaping the conversation with a customer into a specific outcome. This can be accomplished using different techniques, specifically by using the proper tone and action verbs. This combination creates intent for the conversation and moves it into a certain direction. It is important that conversations have a purpose – no small business owner wants to waste their time or the customer’s time on meaningless conversations.

Conversations Go Further with Energy and Passion

Once the intent of a conversation has been established, it is really time to strut your stuff with clients. Injecting passion and energy for the cause or business helps small business owners to share deep connections with the customers and it is this energy that helps to drive further business. When small business owners do not have these qualities, or do not express them during conversation, customers will be less convinced that they are making an investment with the right person or company. Passion is also vitally important in cultivating meaningful connections with colleagues and team members within the business.

As we have been so often told, communication is key! Having great communication skills and the ability to create connections with the people around you is a powerful tool for achievement in business and in life. By building on the levels of communication throughout a conversation it is easy to start making these connections with customers and colleagues and these connections are what will help drive success throughout the business overall.

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